Improvement in devices for teaching musical transposition



- 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. J. O. SIMONTO'N. Device for Teaching MusicalTransposition.

'No. 197,497. Patented Nov. 21, 1877.

' Wifnesses- 1111/01/01- hzzabwz/Lwzw N. PEI'ERS. PHOTO-LITHYOGRAPHER,WASHINGTON. ,l]. G

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

V J. 0 SIMONTON. Devioe for Teaching Musical Transposition. No. 197,497.

Patented Nov. 27', 1877.

'Wi/ne sses D4 AMA UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

J. onns'rnn snuonron, or'rrno, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT IN DEVICES FOR TEACHING MU $ICAL TRANSPOSITION.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 197,497, dated November27, 1877 application filed August 21, 187 7.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J. OHEsrER SnvroNToN, of Tiro, in the county ofCrawford and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and ImprovedApparatus for Teaching Music; and I do hereby declare that the followingis a full, clear, and complete description thereof, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, making a part of the same.

. Figures 1 and 2 are plan views, in diflerent positions, of theapparatus referred to. Fig. 3 is a view of the under side. Fig. 4 is asectional View.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts in the several views.

The nature of this invention relates to music; and the object of theinvention is to facilitate the imparting of a knowledge of music byillustrating the same by certain movable notes arranged in relation tothe musical staff, so that the learner may easily and readily ascertainthe key-note in the several transpositions of the scale, also theseveral notes respectively affected by flats and sharps in consequenceof I such transpositions, all of which may be seen and read on the faceof the apparatus the con struction of which and the operation of thesame are as follows:

The aforesaid apparatus consists of a box, A, of which B, Fig. 4, is thecover. In said box is secured a tablet, B, on which are drawn the staffsO and D, occupying the middle portion of the box, as shown in thedrawings. On said staffs are arranged, respectively, scales or series ofnotes, E, F, and Gr. The notes of each series are connected to eachother by a cord or wire, H, or by other equivalent means, the ends ofwhich reach to the ends of the tab let, where they are made fast to theupturned ends of a slide, I, 'Fig. 3, arranged to slide upon the undersurface of said tablet reciprocally by means of the screw J, actuatedfrom the outside of the box by a crank, K. At one end of the-tablet Balluded to is an apron, L, Figs. 1 and 2, the ends of which are,respectively, secured to rollers arranged transversely in the box, andwhich are operated from the outside by the knobs M. Said rollers, havingwound upon them the ends of the apron, are shown at N and N, Fig. 3. Bymeans of said rollers the apron is made taut, and wound and rmwound uponthem, for a purpose presently shown.

On the face of the apron are drawn the staffs O and P, Figs. 1 and 2,corresponding to the staffs .C and D of the tablet, and which, in fact,may be considered as a continuation of them. On said staffs O and P arearranged,

in proper relation, the sharps and flats, respectively, of fourtranspositions of the scale by sharps and flats.

Over the staff 0, Fig. 1, is a staff, P, having above it the fourletters G D A E-the four key-notes of four transpositions by sharps.Below the staff 1? is a staff, Q, having above it the four lettersG-flat, D-flat, A-flat, E-flat.- the four key-notes of fourtranspositions of the scale by flats-to correspond with the fourtranspositions of the scale by sharps.

Over the staff 0, Fig. 2, is a staff, A, above which are the letters 0,F, Bflat, E-flat, and A-flat of four transpositions by flats. Below thestafi P, Fig. 2, is a stafi, 0, above which are the letters O, F-sharp,B, E, and A of. four transpositions by sharps, to correspond with thefour transpositions above by flats. Further reference will be made tothis apron and staffs.

On the opposite end of the tablets B, above referred to, are two scales,D and E. The letters on the longer lines of said scales indicate thewhole tones and half-tones, unaffected by sharps or flats. The letterson the shorter lines indicate such tones as are affected by sharps inthe several transpositions by sharps. The scale E corresponds to thescale D in character and letter, but relates to the transpositions ofthe scale by flats. Between the two scales D and E is a slide, F, havingthereon the numerals and syllables used in musical notation. Y

The practical operation of the above-described invention is as follows:In practice the staffs fyjQ and the staffs A and G are hid by a a!ering, with the-exception of so much as will show one letter and note atF.

.to a proper relation of musical intervals.

the rollers, so as to bring all the sharps into sight as shown inFig. 1. This movement will bring the letter E above the staff P at F.The other letters, G D A, will be hidden by the covering indicated bythe dotted line 0. The letter E, thus shown at F, is the keynote of thefourth transposition of the scale by sharps.

Now, having thus learned the key-note of the fourth transposition, thenotes are to be accordingly arranged on the stalls O and D. To this end,on operating the screw J, (see Fig. 2,) the slide I can be moved, andthereby bring the first note or notes 0 of the several octaves E, F, andG to the letter E of their respective staff, as shown in Fig. 1. Theother or upper notes will, as a consequence, assume their proper placeson the stalls, on which they can be read in their musical order. In thisfourth transposition of the scale many of the letters must be raised bysharps To ascertain what letters are thus to be affected or sharped isthe purpose of the slide F. To this end the slide is adjusted in itsrelation to the scale D so as to bring the line n, on which is seen 1,do, 1, to the line E of the left-hand column of letters. All the shortlines of the scale, which are now in line with those on the slide, willbe such as aresharped, and which are seen to be F-sharp, G-sharp, C-sharp, and D-sharp. The key-note will be E, (shown at F of the staff Q.)

To ascertain the key-note of one sharp, the

only in view on the stafl's Oand P. The let- Fhwhich will be thekey-note of one sharp.

spaces the notes will now appear.

To learn which note must now be sharped in this first transportation ofthe scale, the slide F is adjusted so that the line 'n will be inconnection with the line G of the scale D. This will show that theletter F is .sharped, as will be seen in the column of sharped letterson the scale I), sharp F being the same as G-flat, (seen at F of thestaff Q.). The octaves E, F, and G to be adjusted on their respectivestafl's by means of t the screw, so that the learner may see theirposition in this first transposition. The second and thirdtranspositions are made substantially in the same way.

A further transposition of the scale by flats is accomplished in likemanner. One such transposition b flats is shown in Fig. 2. The stafi's Aand J, in praetice, are to be covered from sight, with the exception ofso much of the staff as is seen at F, at which places are seen theletters A-flat and A. The

dotted lines 0 (1 indicate the covering whereby the staffs are, inpractice, to be covered, but which in the drawings are represented asbroken away in order to show the staffs and letters thereon.

To bring the flats into view, as shown in Fig. 2, the apron is moved bythe rollers upon which it is wound. For convenience, the fourthtransposition by flats is first considered, instead of the first, as isordinarily done. On referring to the staff A, it will be seen, at F,that A-tlat is the key-note of the scales of four flats.

To said letter on the staifsO and D the first notes 0 of the scale areadjusted, by the screw above alluded to. The other notes of the scalewill, of course, assume their place on the staffs in proper order, asseen in said Fi 2.

I iaving shown that A-flat is the key-note of the fourth transpositionby flats, it is now required to show the letters affected by flats tomake this transposition. This is done by adjusting the slide F so thatthe line n, on which is 1, do, 1, coincides with that one of the shortlines of the scale E on which is the letter A-flat. Now, all the shortlines of the scale E that are in line with those on the slide willindicate, by the letters thereon the letters afl'ected by flats andwhich will be seen to be A-flat, B-flat, D-flat, and E-flat.

The first, second, and third transpositions by flats are madesubstantially in the same 1 way-that is, by showing one or more of the 1flats on the apron, as the case may be, and apron 1s so wound up as toleave one sharp i the key-note will be seen at the place F, and

5 the letters afi'ected by such transpositions will ter G will now beseen above the staff 0 at,

be known by the use of the slide, as herein- 3 before explained. y meansof the screw and slide the notes on the staffs O and D can be adjustedaccordingly, showing the learner on what lines and The example No. 1(shown in Fig. 4) is an illustration of the various kinds of notes andcorresponding rests. Said example is written upon an apron, H, arrangedon the inside of the cover B of the box. The apron is wound uponrollers, indicated by the dotted lines m, and of which I are the knobswhereby the rollers are turned for moving the apron to bring othermusical examples into sight that may be written on other parts of theapron.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. The apron L, having thereon musical stafl's O and I, and stafi's Pand Q, with their respective letters, notes, and characters,

and operated by the knobs M and rollers, in relation to and incombination with the tablet B, and movable scales'of notes E, F,

and G, substantially as herein described, and for the purpose set forth.

.2. In combination with the tablet B and musical staffs G D thereon, thescales of notes E, F, and G, operated by the slide I and screw J, in themanner substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination and arrangement of the movable apron L, andcharacters thereon described, tablets B, and staffs 0 D thereon, scalesof notes E, F, and G, and scales D E, and slide F, substantially asdescribed, and for the purpose specified,

J. CHESTER SIMONTON.

Witnesses:

W. H. BURRIDGE, J. WATTS.

